Another Semester Over!

I am feeling pretty proud of all of my hard work as grades roll in! I found this quote that exemplifies how I try to live my life, 

"all the ventures I've pursued.....required that I work twice as hard and twice as long as others. You have to be willing to do today what others won't so you can have a tomorrow that others never will. You simply have to be willing to do the work, no matter how long or how hard it is, just as there is no shortcut to greatness, there is no shortcut to getting the job done. You must work, work, work - 'til your work is done."

With thanks to Byron V. Garrett from The ABC's of Life.

Maintaining a 4.0 isn't easy, but life's experience, intent and attitude seem to win over my comparatively less agile brain!  Being 25 years older than my peers definitely makes me a very different kind of student.  Part of it of course is the fact that I do work hard.  Every assignment is treated as an important one; I do love to learn.  Another element is the fact that I know why I am at school.  I want to be a great teacher.  I am nervous about putting it altogether when I have my own classroom, so the more that I do now, the better my toolbox is, the more good I can do my future students.  The way that I see it, I can learn from a bad assessment, I can learn from a great peer lesson and I can learn from just being a student.

Now it is the Holidays.  I get to celebrate being Mom, with Ben home from the Navy and then I am off to Australia to see Steph after Christmas.  My line up is ready for the Spring, my advisor has set my last two semester's schedule and this time next year I will be getting ready to student teach....oh my!  
This would all explain my current reading book of choice:  Day One & Beyond, by Rick Wormeli.

Time moves slowly day by day, but the last two years have just flown by!

Always New Lessons to Learn!

Sometimes I think that one of the most important parts of my learning are in the 'what not to do' realm as I go through my classes.  I realize though, that sometimes the negatives are a lot easier to hone in on; there are plenty of positive examples to pay attention to as well!

One thing that I have learned is that there are two vital factors that should be considered when planning every single lesson.  The two magic bullets, that I had better be armed with as I develop every single lesson plan.  What are they?  Engagement and Connections.  I can't remember the timeframe that research states for attracting and keeping a student's attention, but I want to say that it was something like 3 minutes.  That isn't very long.  Not only does official research tell us that if we don't grab attention and interest within that initial few moments that we will 'lose' our teaching power, my personal experience as a student verifies that in a daily basis.  Boredom and disinterest comes all too quickly.  I have written about 'Connections' before, and will no doubt write about them again.  If a student doesn't have any connections with the information shared, there is hardly any chance that they will understand, or engage, or learn - there is nothing to connect to, which means no comprehension; we might as well be taking in another language for all the learning we are imparting if we don't create a connection first. Take my humanities 3, for example.  What must it be like for those students to have to learn the history of countries that they can't even find on a map?  Our professor (one of my favorites) works tirelessly to encourage conversation, show pictures and videos, link to historical events that her students might have heard of - and it works.

Other things that I have learned or had reiterated this semester are: 

• When teaching online, always include discussion and responses.   Force a minimum response, help the students with an outline of how/what to post, but find a way to make them translate their reading into their own words, and then respond to each other and continue a discussion.  Even though it is online, interactivity is possible; and makes all a difference to the learning.
• When a student is confused about a concepts, let them explain their understanding to you first, rather than repeatedly sharing your own understanding.  Listen to what they say/think, find their own confusion (or possibly verify their correctness), and then discuss.  If they didn't understand you the first few times, chances are, they won't understand you when you try one more time.  You need to listen to their thinking, and assess their understanding, and guide them from that point.  Those professors who won't let me explain what I THINK that I understand, are taking a real learning opportunity away from me - and are frustrating me beyond belief!
• When students share answers after group work, make sure that each answer has been clearly stated, responding in the same format as the question.  If they are answering a five-part question, make sure that is how they are answering.  Be cognizant of the fact that the rest of the class is taking notes and learning the information the way fellow students are presenting it.  Either gently repeat the answers in the correct format, or go back over everything clearly.  Guess what?  I am paying to learn the correct information, no another student's translation of the concept.
• When understanding is more important than memorizing, recognize that!  Allow students a study tool - by creating their cheat sheet, they are revising.  This is much better than an open book test, continues the learning, relaxes the student's nerves, but still requires the work and learning to take place.
• Don't give redundant assessments.  Nothing takes away respect and intent to succeed like a test that covers material not taught, or pointless learning.  When a concept can be explained, why not ask the question that way, rather than expecting verbatim quotes?
• Tell a story, make a connection, share an emotion.
• Always think about the importance of interdisciplinary learning.  Think of the frustration of a student traveling from class to class, with random, unconnected information being thrown at them.  Then think about the student who is using their science text book as non-fiction text examples for comprehension practice, writing about issues being discussed in social studies this week, creating math story problems while writing sentences that contain various parts of the six parts of speech.  Think about how much more practice that student is having, and how many skills are constantly being worked over each school day.  Even if my school district does not have the wisdom to build curriculum that way, there is no reason why I can't build my lesson plans to give my students the most advantages that I possible can.

Isn’t this ‘double learning’ great?  Who would have thought it? Not only am I learning content, but am also practicing skills for my future career.  Gee, doesn’t that sound very Common Core?

AMLE Conference

First of all, what is AMLE?  Answer:  the Association of Middle Level Educators.  As a member of the Student Association of Middle Level Educators (SAMLE) I was fortunate enough to be able to go to the conference - both to enjoy the learning and also to be a part of the team that presented two different workshops.

The conference was an interesting blend of an overwhelming amount of amazing information, fun times with students, frustration at student attitudes and the kind of learning that only an intense conference experience can bring.

I learned about better ways to assess, and how to use assessment to improve teaching and learning instead of as a dead-end judgement.  I heard great tales about handling middle level students, as well better ways to engage learning and increase interest.  Workshops were offered with intensity and humor, and the impact that we teachers (or future teachers) have on students was cited throughout the different classes.  I took endless notes, bought books, and scavenged the exhibit hall for anything free (lots of good and plenty of pointless stuff).

My three student room mates were fun.  As their adopted Mom, I enjoyed the experience despite my trepidation leading up to the 4-day event.  We ate together, visited the sights of Minneapolis and enjoyed some nightlife (only one of the group of 14 was underage).  Some of the group were just a little too 'young' for me to handle for too long, but the group that I attached myself to seemed to enjoy me as much as I enjoyed them; I certainly hope so!  They introduced me to the world of SnapChat, I perhaps influenced them to attend a couple more workshops than they might have otherwise.  A win-win.

As I look over the tools that I gathered and contemplate the new learning, it adds to my desire to finally get out to the real world and be in my classroom!  If nothing else, now that my semester schedule has freed up a little with my two 8-week classes ending, I connected with New Hartford once again and will be teaching there every Wednesday afternoon, helping with Language Arts.  I can't wait!

All this time and effort is about the students that will one day motivate me to be the best teacher that I can be - no doubt at the very same time that they stymie and frustrate me along the way!

I can't wait :)

Starting over....again!

My energy and excitement is back after a hiatus.  Time to adjust my attitude.  Another beginning, as symbolized by my beginning to blog once again.

The first semester back at school was exciting.  I was finally doing what I wanted with my life; I had focus.  Being a learner once more was invigorating, and knowing my goal exciting.

The second and third semesters were a joy.  Time with the wonderful cohort at Lincoln Elementary kept the goal alive.  Living literacy learning and being around children was a daily reminder of what I was striving for.  Volunteering in New Hartford kept me around middle schoolers.  The personal side of things wasn't easy, with Steph (our oldest) realizing that she needed to get away, far away, to figure herself out, and then, a little later, Paul losing his job.  We are lucky though, with a fabulous support system that kept us moving forward.

Things worked out.  Steph fell in love with New Zealand.  Paul got a much better job.  

School, however, was not quite the same.

My sojourn at Lincoln ended.  No more 'real' learning; it was back to the classroom.  Not only was it back to lectures and no children to work with, it was a semester filled with 'gen eds'.   World Geography was a nightmare.  Humanities was well taught and enjoyable, but those exams...,,,,,there were some highlights of course, but my fourth semester was one where I almost forgot that I was going to be a teacher....time continued to get away from me.  The semester started with long hours in the barn as my horse recovered from surgery, and I never quite caught up.

My two summer classes were a perfect example of the extremities of what I face.  Math methods with Matt Webb was an awesome class.  All about teaching.  Anecdotes, stories, even a couple of field experiences!  On the other end of the spectrum was 'East Asian Cultures' to fulfill my non-Western culture requirement.....let's just sum that class up as, 'painful'.

So now I am in semester 5.  The first semester of my third year.  After this one, I will have just two semesters left before I student teach.  It is time to readdress & re-motivate.

Last week I was fortunate enough to go to the Association of Middle Educators' (AMLE) national conference.  3 days of workshops and seminars.  I am invigorated again.  My mind is filled with ideas and concepts.  I go from 4 classes on a Thursday to 2 after Thanksgiving, which reduces the homework burden on Wednesdays, meaning I can go back into the classroom every week, and remind myself why I am doing this!

So, a long journal entry to basically say this, my blogging stopped when my excitement waned.  I had no time, nor desire to find those extra minutes to write something that only a handful of folk might glance at.   Now, re energized and with the end in sight, I am ready to log my journey once again.

Life is good.

The joys of online classes...or not!

Happy New Year!

As I have worked towards getting courses done in an attempt to try to finish this whole 'back-to-school' adventure by the end of 2014, I have spent the Christmas break working through my first ever online course. here are some thoughts that have come to me as I have experienced the joys of Personal Wellness online!!

-Get the textbook early, no time to mess around - and just as they say about bullies, it is easy to hide behind a computer screen - no pity from the online professor! Which makes me wonder, do you get the same kind of whining & requests for change, bonus points & re-do that a teacher gets in traditional, face-to-face classes? Seems as if there are many benefits to the online professorial job - although I would hate not knowing who I was helping, or being able to build supportive relationships with my students.
-Don't wait for the course syllabus. Contact the bookstore to see if they know the textbook needed. The professor posted the course requirements one day before the first three assignments were due; each of which needed the textbook!
-I missed the relationship building of a regular class. Although I did notice that there are a few names that I already search out on class discussion posts. One girl writes beautifully; I enjoy her thoughts and ideas.
-Some of this Personal Wellness stuff goes a bit deep. I am glad we are online. Middle Level Psych got that way, but not until the end of the semester, and you could choose to share.....or not. This one we had a required posting about out spiritual selves. We Brits don't do really that. It was tough.
-One assignment included taking the Presidential Fitness test. I wonder if I was the only student who actually took that?
-The professor obviously sees this as a truly easy gig with minimal effort, and no desire to help. A past master at letting you know who else might be able to answer your question rather than sending the answer directly to you herself.
- It was pretty funny comparing my 40-something answers to questions and experiences concerning diet, exercise, smoking, and the like, compared with the average 18-19 year old (on quitting smoking, mine was a discussion on the intent and desire needs to be 100%, it doesn't matter what tools and support are available without that deep desire to quit. The average student response was more along the lines of, 'there are many support systems in place and there is no reason that everyone can't just stop because there is something for everyone.')
- I did have to take my first zero though. One assignment was to watch a video & answer questions. The only problem was that the video is on Windows Media Player, which is inaccessible on a MAC. I did send an email to the professor to let her know, and to suggest that as an online course, it might be a good idea to include the fact that parts of the course suited PC users only in the course catalog. At the time that I type this, she has still not responded. The zero assignment is frustrating, but as it is valued at less than 1%, I will live.
- I have one more assignment and my final. Due 11:55pm tomorrow. Almost done!